Manners are the happy ways of doing things; each one a stroke of genius or of love, now repeated and hardened into usage. They form at least a rich varnish, with which the routine of life is washed, and its details adorned.

True merit does not depend on the times or on fashion. Those who have no other advantage than courtly manners lose it when they are away from court. But good sense, knowledge, and wisdom make their possessors knowledgeable and beloved in all ages and in all times.

Magdeleine Sable (c. 1599 - 1678)

Source: the Marquise Sablé’s work is in Maxims and Various Thoughts (Maximes et pensées diverses) 1678